Nadal federer indian wells

REUTERS: French Open champion Rafa Nadal has said he nearly ended his season after being forced to withdraw from the Indian Wells semi-finals with a knee injury in March but played through the pain at Roland Garros to clinch a record-extending 12th title.Nadal conceded a walkover to Roger Federer at Indian Wells and skipped the Miami Open before returning to the tour for the clay season, where he lost three semi-finals in a row before winning titles in Rome and Paris."Mentally, after Indian Wells, I suffered a major downturn," the Spaniard told the ATP website. "I considered shutting down my season to see if my body would recuperate instead of playing through injury after injury."Another option was to press on and play through the pain. Either way, the outlook was bleak. It required a change of mindset ... and that doesn't happen overnight."I was reluctant and hesitant to return. Physically, because of another tendon tear in my knee, and on top of going through all the treatment … [Read more...] about Tennis: Nadal considered ending season after Indian Wells injury

Sport French Open champion Rafa Nadal has said he nearly ended his season after being forced to withdraw from the Indian Wells semi-finals with a knee injury in March but played through the pain at Roland Garros to clinch a record-extending 12th title. 12 Jun 2019 02:46PM Bookmark REUTERS: French Open champion Rafa Nadal has said he nearly ended his season after being forced to withdraw from the Indian Wells semi-finals with a knee injury in March but played through the pain at Roland Garros to clinch a record-extending 12th title.Nadal conceded a walkover to Roger Federer at Indian Wells and skipped the Miami Open before returning to the tour for the clay season, where he lost three semi-finals in a row before winning titles in Rome and Paris."Mentally, after Indian Wells, I suffered a major downturn," the Spaniard told the ATP website. "I considered shutting down my season to see if my body would recuperate instead of playing through injury after injury."Another option … [Read more...] about Nadal considered ending season after Indian Wells injury

MADRID: Novak Djokovic will play Stefanos Tsitsipas for the Madrid Open title after the 20-year-old Greek stunned Rafael Nadal on Saturday to win a thrilling semi-final 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 on his fourth match point. Nadal had been a clear favourite to face Djokovic in Sunday’s showpiece at Caja Magica but the 17-time Grand Slam champion extended his stuttering build-up to the French Open with another surprise defeat. Tsitsipas’ stunning victory means he reaches his fourth ATP final of the season while fully vindicating those that have him circled as a future star of the men’s game. “Emotionally it was very tough, it was one of my toughest wins,“ he said. It might be too early to expect the world number nine to challenge at Roland Garros later this month but, with a fearless style and formidable forehand, Tsitsipas is developing a habit for delivering on the big stage. In terms of career wins, this perhaps trails only his ousting of Roger Federer from the … [Read more...] about Tsitsipas stuns Nadal to set up Madrid final with Djokovic

By Tales Azzoni The Associated Press Sat., May 11, 2019 MADRID—Rafael Nadal’s slump on clay continued with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 loss to ninth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the semifinals of the Madrid Open on Saturday. It was the third straight semifinal elimination for Nadal, adding to his worst start to the clay swing since 2015. Tsitsipas will try to win his third title of the year in a final against top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who defeated Dominic Thiem 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) and will have a chance to tie Nadal for the most titles in Masters 1000 tournaments with 33. In the women’s final, Kiki Bertens upset two-time Madrid champion Simona Halep 6-4, 6-4. The seventh-ranked Dutch player became the first woman to win the Madrid title without dropping a set. The second-ranked Nadal, still seeking his first title of the season, had also failed to make it to the final in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, tournaments he had won the last three consecutive seasons. … [Read more...] about Rafael Nadal slips again as king of clay

Federer, playing only his second match of a 2019 comeback to clay after three years away, needed two hours to defeat French showman Monfils 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3). Osaka fell for the second time in two months to Federer's Swiss compatriot Belinda Bencic, exiting 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. Bencic also beat the double Grand Slam winner in March at Indian Wells. Men's top seed Novak Djokovic, however, motored into the last eight as he hammered Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) while five-time champion Rafael Nadal dispatched Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4. Nadal will next play Stan Wawrinka after the Swiss completed a national hat-trick on the day, beating Japan's sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). Defending champion Alexander Zverev came from breaks down in both of the last two sets to get past error-prone Pole Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and now plays eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, a 6-3, 6-4 winner against Fernando Verdasco. Federer admitted he struggled to get past the … [Read more...] about Federer saves two match points in Madrid, Osaka crashes out